The Obstacle is the Path

My preciouseseses!

To get better in archery you need motivation. To get you on the line, shooting the arrows, putting in the practice. We have written about methods of motivation before but here is a slightly different one that one of our more .. eccentric* .. archers has come up with. How serious he's taking this is for you to decide! ;o)

This archer is a bit of a badge whore. He likes the shiny, be it medals or achievement badges. Rather than throw them in a box, he likes to see them and they populate the top of his hi-fi in front of his bonsai mountains. He intends to shoot competitively this winter so will be generating scores that can be used in classifications. His target is to achieve Indoor Bowman 1st class which comes with a badge. So how is he motivating himself to make the scores required?

AGB guard spider on duty

He bought the Indoor Bowman achievement badge (Merlin are the suppliers if interested) but it remains in its ziplock bag where it will stay until achieved. It sits just under his monitor where he sees it every day. Seeing this badge, that he is yet to earn, every .. single .. day has got to be firming up the resolve. Prodding that OCD. Fuelling the obsession. This archer has been heard to mutter  "He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him!" which may be a reference to the famous quote by Ishmael from Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick ... or perhaps not**

No matter the mental processes ticking away behind that disturbing, glassy eyed, 1000 yard stare you see when he's on the line .. this archer has a goal. His focus this year will be to return to, or exceed, this level of competitive archery. The badge on his quiver is the prize. Now he needs to walk the path. You might think he's as mental as a bag of badgers but if you see it having the potential to give you focus, perhaps worth a try. Motivation comes in many different shapes. If it works for you, embrace it.

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* politest way we could put it
** We suspect its actually from Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan where Khan says of Kirk "He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's flames before I give him up!"

If interested in a gentle introduction to competitive archery, The Glasgow League will be running again this year and Team GA will be in attendance. Here is last years article for a bit of background.